“For a number of years, the Spring District was merely a conceptual neighborhood fashioned after Portland’s renowned Pearl District,” said John Marasco, Security Properties’ chief development officer. “With new residential, retail and office projects on the way, including anchors Global Innovation Exchange and REI, together with the rapidly advancing Sound Transit East Link we’re seeing the long-awaited Spring District take shape and we couldn’t be happier to be a part of it.”

The first phase of the Spring District includes five buildings totaling 309 residences and 15,000-square-feet of commercial space. Two of those buildings are expected to be completed February 2017. All five buildings — known as the Sparc Apartments — will be open to residents in June 2017.

Security Properties anticipates a 24-month timeline for construction on the second phase.

REI to relocate headquarters to Spring District

Outdoor co-op REI announced that it has finalized an agreement to relocate its headquarters to the Spring District.

“We aspire to create something unexpected that embodies our co-op values. We’re envisioning a sustainable, transit-friendly, urban neighborhood that blends working space with green space, takes inspiration from the community around it, and connects to the rest of the Puget Sound area,” said Eric Artz, REI’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “After 28 years in Kent, we have outgrown our current headquarters. So, we will build a campus as a gathering place that fosters creativity and connects thousands of increasingly mobile employees.”

REI will develop eight acres of land between SR 520 and Bel-Red Road.

Plans call for REI to relocate by 2020.

One of the benefits REI sees in the Spring District is the access to better mobility now and in the future. That includes a light rail station planned to open in the area.

Work began on the Spring District in 2014. Construction on the first phase of the neighborhood broke ground in June 2015. It is a 36-acre mixed-use urban neighborhood near the intersection of SR 520 and I-405. It will ultimately feature commercial, residential and retail including hotels, restaurants, and shops.

The $2.3 billion project is one of the largest urban development projects on the West Coast. Work is being done in phases, with the eastern and southernmost blocks developed in Phase One. Development will eventually move north towards the future East Link rail station.